Contaminants of various kinds may appear on the exterior painted or metallic surfaces of an automotive vehicle in various ways. Small flakes of paint or small metallic particles may be present on the painted surfaces of such a vehicle even in its brand new condition. Over time, road film such as soil or tar, as well as oxidized paint or tarnished metal surfaces, may contaminate the exterior surfaces of the vehicle.
Mechanical buffing of an automotive vehicle with special buffing equipment is a common method of removing undesirable contaminants from the exterior surfaces of the vehicle. Such equipment is expensive, and many man-hours of work are required to complete such a cleaning job. Moreover, the high speed rotation of the brush carrying the buffing composition often produces swirl marks or scratches on the surface being cleaned, and in the case of cleaning a painted surface can result in burning through the paint.